Solid as the Wind
by SopranoWithAnIdentityCrisis
Summary: If the course of events runs on coincidences, slight variations can change it drastically. Randomness, after all, is the basis of the Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

_Katniss_

* * *

 _It's time for the drawing. Effie Trinket says, as she always does, "Ladies first!" and crosses to the glass ball with the girls' names. She reaches in, digs deep into the ball, and pulls out a slip of paper. The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I'm feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it's not me, that it's not me, that it's not me._

 _Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, smooths the slip of paper, and reads the name in a clear voice. And it's not me._

 _It's Primrose Everdeen._

* * *

The world begins to spin in circles, obscured by a reddish mist, myself and Prim the only clear things in it. I see her hesitate and then take a step toward the stage. It's so hard to get my bearings when nothing will stay in one place. Another step. Someone's calling my name, but I ignore them, concentrate on doing something, anything to stop Prim. Another step. I try to run toward her, but my legs won't obey. Prim mounts the stage, and Effie's saying something I can't hear. Everything stops spinning, just for one second, and then fades to black.

The next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground. I can sense in an instant that I'm surrounded by people, which means I'm still at the reaping, and the reaping happened already.

"Prim!" I gasp, shooting to my feet. The stage is empty. They must be in the Justice Building already. I have to find Prim, do something, convince them to let me volunteer for her. She can't go. I will not allow it.

Someone's hand closes around my wrist, but I don't even look to see whose it is. I just aim a kick in the general direction of said person's leg. "Katniss," he groans, and I realize it's Gale, but at this point, I don't care. He's keeping me away from Prim, and he's much stronger than I am. I try to stomp on his foot, but he moves it out of the way. "Katniss, listen to me," he says. He's infuriatingly calm. How can he act like this? "You can't go barging in there. You'll just get yourself in trouble."

"I don't care!" I shout, trying to jerk my arm away. "I have to volunteer! Prim got picked and she is going to die, Gale!"

Gale catches my other wrist as I'm throwing a punch at his head. "Calm down," he orders, which I obviously don't. "You won't make things any better. They won't let you volunteer after the reaping's over."

"I know that." My voice catches, and I take a deep breath to compose myself. "Prim can't go, Gale. There must be something we can do."

"Katniss, you know there isn't. That's the whole point." Gale's fighting tears, but I refuse to cry. We're probably on camera right now, knowing the Capitol and their love for drama. "Let's get out of here."

He doesn't say where to, but I know he means the woods. I don't want to come. I am perfectly willing to break into the Justice Building and take on everyone in it with my bare hands to get to Prim, but part of me knows that Gale's right, that there's nothing I can do. So I hold in my fury and my grief just a little longer, just until we're where no one can see us.

Gale takes my arm and leads me through the remainder of the reaping crowd, telling the few people who ask that he's taking me home. We navigate the empty streets in silence. I'm paying so little attention, focused on keeping my face expressionless, that I forget to check the fence, and Gale has to jerk me back so I won't shock myself. "Fence is live, Catnip," he cautions. "Let's not have you getting hurt."

"Like that hasn't happened already," I snap at him. I bite my lip as soon as the words are out- I shouldn't take this out on Gale. None of it is his fault. There's a hurt look in his eyes for a split second, but he quickly masks it, glancing around the meadow for a stick. I hand him one silently, and he uses it to push the wires aside so I can slip under the fence.

As soon as we're out of earshot of District Twelve, the first words out of my mouth are "It's my fault." Gale opens his mouth, but I don't even let him get a word in. "I should have volunteered, but I didn't, and Prim is dead because of me!"

"You know that's not true." Gale's using his low, calming voice, the one I can't help listening to. "It's the Capitol's fault."

"I told Prim it wouldn't be her. I _promised_ her. She wanted to help with the tesserae, but I wouldn't let her. I took them all myself so she'd only be in once. I should have faked her birth certificate or something, so they'd think she was still eleven."

"And you would have gotten caught."

"I should have stopped her. I shouldn't have let her go up."

"You were trying, but you fainted. Did you eat this morning? Or yesterday?"

"I wasn't hungry, I was so nervous- _oh_."

Gale nods. "That's it. That and the shock."

I whirl around and kick the nearest rock. It hits a tree a few yards away. " _Stupid_ , Katniss!"

"You weren't thinking."

"So it is my fault."

"No, it isn't."

" _I_ didn't eat."

"Because of the _Capitol's_ games."

I take a deep breath and let it out, sitting down on a nearby log. "Okay. It's the Capitol's fault. So what do we do about it?" My ability to think is coming back, along with my determination. "They can't have left yet. What if we hijack the train?"

Gale raises one eyebrow. "What if we got caught?"

I mirror his expression out of habit, and both of us smile a bit. "It could be worse. We technically could be shot just for being out here."

"Fair. What are you thinking?" Gale sits down next to me, brushing a few leaves off the log.

"I don't know. Shoot the engineer?"

"Good but violent."

"Blow up the engine?"

"Better but conspicuous."

"Rewire the system?"

"There you go. How are we getting in?"

"We get to board the train to see Prim, right? And if I distract the Peacekeepers..."

"I can get into the engine." I can tell from Gale's tone that he's realizing that there might actually be something we can do, a way to stop this. "I'll pretend to be a technician. Final checks before departure or something."

"And if you find a panel that comes off, which should be pretty obvious, you can reconnect a few wires."

"So if I'm doing that, what's your distraction?"

"I'll just act hysterical. Start a fight or something. My sister _is_ supposedly getting sent to her death."

"Okay. Just don't take it too far or you'll get in trouble."

"I know. I'll be careful."

"And then they'll have to take everyone off the train while they fix it, because of safety procedures."

"And then they'll put them in the Justice Building."

"Which will be a lot easier to break Prim out of. I like your style, Catnip."

A thought suddenly occurs to me. "But what do we do after we get her out? It's not like we can just go home. They'll look for her."

"Then you do what we were talking about. You leave. I'll help you. You can live out here, even build a house here. Your mother will have to agree, to save Prim."

"Won't they look out here too?"

"Not if I cover for you. I'll tell them you were all eaten by bears. Fake some circumstantial evidence."

"That's really risky, Gale. I should cover."

"They'll suspect you because you're her sister. Besides, we can't have Prim and your mother living in the woods by themselves."

"Okay. You're right. Is this going to work?"

Gale stands up and offers me his hand. I take it, and he pulls me up. "Of course it is. Ready, Catnip?"

"Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

_Prim_

* * *

You know those dreams where you can't stop walking even though every instinct tells you to run the other way?

That's exactly what it feels like walking onstage. There's the initial bewilderment, total disbelief- _it's not gonna be you, your name's only in there once-_ when has Katniss ever been wrong? _Katniss couldn't have known,_ I tell myself sternly. _It was random, unpredictable. She has no control either._ _That's just panic talking. Panic doesn't get to talk. I have to be strong for Katniss._

I'm still confused by the odds. It's just like my sister told me- there were thousands of slips and only one had my name on it. I'm scared, terrified, but it comes with a sense of relief. I don't have to worry about being picked anymore. I know I'm going to die. At least I have nothing else to be afraid of. With that decided, my fear drains away, leaving nothing in its place. I approach the stairs to the stage in a daze, so numb I almost feel frostbitten.

But now that I'm not worried about myself I start to worry about my sister and my mother. That Katniss will say or do something that will get her into trouble with the Capitol. I know what a rebellious spirit she is, no matter how much she tries to hide from me. That my mother will disappear again. She and my sister are too alike- they'll both retreat into themselves and won't be able to pull each other back.

I reach the top of the steps and scan the sea of faces for Katniss. She's staring right at me, but I can tell from here that her eyes are unfocused. Suddenly she's falling and I gasp, ready to spring off the stage and rush to help her, but Gale's already at her side. He meets my eyes for a second, and I see the promise in them. I don't have to worry about my family. He'll take care of them when I can't anymore.

I know Katniss feels that it's her responsibility, but it's just as much mine. Katniss and I balance each other perfectly, and Gale won't let the balance tip even when I'm gone. She'll have to let him in or she'll never heal. Maybe the inevitable falling in love will happen when she does- I've known it would happen eventually since the day they met. I was only eight then, but I still knew. I wish I could be here to see it. Tears threaten my eyes at that thought, and I close them, taking a deep, calming breath before opening them again. I need to stay composed. I'm sure that's what Katniss would do.

A hand touches my shoulder, and I look up into Effie's very powdered face. "Come on over here, darling," she tells me, with a sympathetic smile. The corner of my mouth turns up the tiniest bit. I really can't help it. It's second nature after years of joking about the Capitol accent with Katniss.

"Objection!" Haymitch yells, startling the crowd. He staggers over to Effie and waves a finger in her face. "She's a dozen- a tweleven- she's twelve!" He pauses, clears his throat, and then looks back at Effie very seriously. "This isn't gonna work, sugar," he informs her. He turns back in the direction of his chair as if the matter is settled, but he trips over his own feet and falls off the side of the stage before he gets there.

Nobody laughs. Effie gives a nervous giggle, edged with a slight tinge of panic. So much for her perfectly planned ceremony. "And now let's pick our boy tribute, shall we?" she says. Then she realizes Haymitch has knocked the bowl off of its pedestal in the process of falling off the stage. She laughs again, with a rising note of hysteria. "Oh dear. We have a little problem, don't we?"

I stoop to help her pick up the papers. Katniss would be shocked, but Effie seems like a nice person, and it's not her fault the reaping has to happen. "Thank you, darling," she tells me, her voice softening almost imperceptibly. "I'll take it from here."

Effie sets the bowl back on the pedestal, trying to ignore the fact that it's cracked and there are a few chips out of the rim. She reaches inside and pulls out the first slip her fingers touch. "Carter Hawkway!"

A boy from the fifteen-year-olds' section makes his way up. I don't really know him, but I've spoken to him once or twice. He's from the Seam, he's an only child, and he's what Katniss would call ridiculous because he doesn't believe in trusting your instincts. He also asked his mother to teach him to use silverware when he was five because he thought it would be proper.

Carter reaches the middle of the stage, purposely looking everywhere but at me. I don't blame him at all. I can't make myself look at him either. The mayor starts reading the Treaty of Treason, which I know by heart by now and don't care about. Judging from his flat tone, he doesn't care either. My eyes wander over the crowd. I can't see my mother, but a group of women is huddled together over to the left. She's probably one of them. Katniss is unconscious, and Gale is trying to wake her up without much luck. He glances up, and my eyes dart to the side, avoiding his. The last thing I need is to cry. I think that's what Katniss would say.

The treaty is finally over, and the mayor is telling the tributes to shake hands. It takes me a second to remember that that means me. I squeeze Carter's hand in what I hope is a reassuring gesture, and he gives me the tiniest of smiles. I smile back- what else can I do?- and feel a little fear dissipate from both of us. _Maybe it'll be okay_. I don't know where the thought came from, but I'm glad it's there. After all, there's no point in being pessimistic. If the worst happens, I probably won't even know it.

No, that's not a good thought. I'll just hope for the best.


End file.
